Sustainability Manager Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Sustainability Manager resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
As a sustainability manager, you’re responsible for creating an environmental strategy for your company. You might work directly with your company’s leadership team to define its overall environmental goals, or you might work more closely with a specific department like engineering or procurement.
Regardless of where you work or the size of your company, sustainability managers play an important role in creating a more sustainable future by reducing waste, reducing energy consumption, and increasing the use of renewable resources.
Here are some tips plus an example resume to help you write a compelling sustainability manager resume that hiring managers will love.
How to Write a Sustainability Manager Resume
Here’s how to write a resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
When you’re writing bullet points, it can be tempting to focus on the responsibilities of your job. But that’s not enough to make a strong impression. Instead, you should focus on the results of your work.
For example, rather than saying you “managed sustainability initiatives,” you could say you “led sustainability initiatives to reduce energy consumption by 20% across 10 buildings, resulting in $1 million in annual savings.”
The second bullet point is much stronger because it provides specific numbers and details about the project. It also includes a quantifiable result (20% reduction in energy consumption) and a clear outcome ($1 million in annual savings).
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you apply for a sustainability manager role, your resume will likely be scanned by an applicant tracking system (ATS) for certain keywords. ATS programs rank resumes based on how many of the desired keywords are found in the applicant’s work history. If your resume doesn’t have enough relevant keywords, the ATS might disqualify you from the pool of candidates.
To increase your chances of getting noticed, use this list of sustainability manager keywords as a starting point to help you identify the skills and experience most relevant to the position:
- Sustainability
- Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
- Environment
- Environmental Sustainability
- Environmental Management Systems
- Environmental Compliance
- Environmental Policy
- Environmental Impact Assessment
- ISO 14001
- Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
- Green Building
- Water Conservation
- Waste Management
- Green Business
- Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
- Environmental Engineering
- Water Resource Management
- Energy Management
- Negotiation
- Change Management
- Strategic Planning
- Stakeholder Management
- Project Management
- Sustainable Development
- Business Strategy
- Corporate Governance
- Energy
- Organizational Development
- Management
- Strategic Sourcing
Showcase Your Technical Skills
As a sustainability manager, you need to be proficient in a variety of software programs and systems in order to effectively do your job. This might include programs like Excel and Access, as well as databases like LEED Online and ENERGY STAR. Additionally, you should be familiar with sustainable development concepts and principles, as well as environmental regulations.